M6.0 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Sulawesi, Indonesia at 00:34 UTC on January 18, 2023 (08:34 LT). The agency is reporting a depth of 152.5 km (64.6 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 159 km (98.8 miles).
The epicenter was located 61.4 km (38.2 miles) SSE of Gorontalo (population 44 195), and 114.7 km (71.2 miles) NNE of Luwuk (population 47 778), Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
2 906 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick with concrete floor and precast concrete frame with wall construction.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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